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“More coffee?”
“I’m good. Thanks, Donna.”
“Honey?”
“I’m good too. Thank you.” Lucy smiles kindly at her.
“You folks need anything else?”
I look at Lucy. She shakes her head, so I say, “I think we’re good.”
She sets the check on the table face down. I have my hand on it before Lucy can move.
“Benson—”
“No.”
“I can—”
I look at her. “Not on my watch, babe.”
She blushes a pretty shade of pink, so I smile and put my card on the check. Donna takes it.
“So,” I say, feeling a little nervous. “Want to take a walk?”
“A walk?” she asks.
I nod. “There’s a park nearby.”
She nods. “Okay.”
Fuck yeah.
Donna comes back with the receipt. I sign it and then hold out my hand for Lucy to grab. She looks at my hand for a moment, deciding what she’s going to do. Then she puts her hand in mine, I pull her up out of the booth, and I do not let go.
The light outside the diner is bright, and Lucy squints at it. The park is a few blocks away with a pond and a few benches. I hold her hand and start feeling like I’m sweating. We’re silent, casually walking in the daylight for anyone to see. If any of the guys see me right, I’m a dead man. But I don’t care. Right now, I want to know everything about this girl. It took a while to Camdenk the ice after the phone call with her mom, but I think I can finally start getting to know her. I have a million questions.
“What kind of music do you listen to?” I ask.
She thinks about it. “Anything, really. Classical mostly when I’m driving. Pop when I’m working out. Whatever’s on the radio. What about you?”
I wasn’t thinking about answering this question, so now that I’m put on the spot, I’m blanking.
“Let me guess,” she says, looking up at me. “Taylor Swift.”
“Ha-ha,” I say. “You got me.”
“Don’t tell me you know the lyrics to All Too Well, too?”
I smile down at her. “Of course, I do.” I start singing, “I remember it all too well.”
She laughs.
I pull her closer to me and say, “When I’m in the car, I like to listen to podcasts.”
“Podcasts,” she nods.
“Hockey mostly.”
